The Baron's Battle
by adsum-sean
Summary: Kaito Kumon faces one of his toughest battles yet.


_The characters in this story do not belong to me, but to the awesome producers of Kamen Rider Gaim. This is my first attempt at an action piece, and I have taken liberty in styling out how I would like the fight scene to play out… Enjoy…_

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"Another useless junk"

Kaito Kumon threw the black and white lock seed behind him. Team Baron's Armored Rider continues on, harvesting the strange and mysterious lock seeds from Helheim forest. He has been at it for more than two hours, and all he had worth keeping was a single Acorn lockseed. He should leave soon, dwelling too long in the mysterious forest might spell danger, even for a Armored Rider for him.

"Help me!"

Kaito turned. Was he imagining things? A child's voice, in a place like this?

Another scream.

"Damn", he thought. "The kid must have wandered in here through a tear."

He ran, frantically searching for the source. This forest is too dangerous for any normal human, let alone a child. Another scream. There. He spotted a young girl in bright orange outfit, squatting in the middle of a forest clearing, hands protectively over her head. Surrounding the child was three Inves, their grey arms flailing threateningly, as they inch closer to the child.

"Mommy!"

Kaito cursed. He would not make it in time. There was still some distance between them. Grabbing his lance, Kaito aimed at the Inves and threw his weapon with all his strength.

Bam! The lance found its mark, piercing into an Inves' side and knocking it sideways.

Kaito smiled, grateful for the augmented strength granted by his armor, and he pushed himself further to close the distance and hopefully be able to rescue the girl in time.

The group of Inves turned, momentarily distracted, noticing Kaito's red and yellow figure for the first time.

He charged at them, shoulder tackling two Inves to the ground. Almost immediately the other two monster came at him, their grey hulking figure body slamming him to the ground. Kaito rolled on the forest floor. Dazed for a second, he quickly got on his feet and reached for his weapon, which was lying two feet away.

He turned his head at the girl and roared "Run!"

The young girl was startled by his appearance, had quickly got to her feet and hid herself behind a nearby tree.

At least she'll be safe for now, Kaito thought. Now to clean up this mess. He needed to finish this battle quickly, else more Inves join the fight, he would be in deep trouble then.

The two Inves attacked simultaneously, clawed arms crashing into Kaito. Kaito could not defend in time, and was pushed back. Sparks flying off his armor from the impact. He grimaced in annoyance. Elementary Inves are individually weak, but their strength comes in numbers. And these Inves never appear alone.

Regaining his balance, Kaito faced them head-on. He butted the first Inves with the end of his lance, twisted his torso, and delivered a left hook, his punch sending it sprawling. A clawed arm appeared out of nowhere, missing his head by inches. Too close. Kaito reflexively jumped out of the way, spun his body and kicked the Inves in the face, pushing it off-balance unto the ground. Seizing this opportunity, Kaito jumped unto the Inves, slamming the back end of his lance to the creature's face, knocking it senseless.

Do not underestimate these pests, he reminded himself.

He searched for the third Inves. Nowhere to be found. Could it have ran away?

He heard a monstrous screech above him. Kaito looked up, and swore. The third Inves had took flight and is now speeding towards him. Kaito frowned, he hates fighting against flying opponents, it puts him at a disadvantage. He readied himself, both hands gripping his lance in defensive position. At the Inves came rushing at him, Kaito swung his weapon like a bat, intending to swat the monster down. He missed. The Inves turned mid-air and charged at him again. Kaito tried to hit it, but his attacks were in vain, he simply did not have the reach.

He swore. He took a deep breath and planted his feet firmly on the ground. The Inves came again, moving with astonishing speed and slamming into him. But Kaito was ready, he braved the impact and took opportunity to smash the monster to the ground with his lance.

Not good enough. Soon after that the Inves is back in the air again.

The flying Inves turned its trajectory mid-air and came at him again. From the corner of his eye, Kaito saw the remaining two Inves rushing at him from different directions simultaneously.

"Enough of this", Kaito growled.

He needs to strike hard and fast. This is his one chance to finish the fight.

Kaito reached for his belt, activating his finisher. "Come on! Banana squash!"

Kaito roared and drove his lance into the air-borne Inves, as a energy spear materializes by the tip of his lance, granting the Rider both enormous reach and power, piercing a hole through its gut. The Inves exploded. One down.

No time to pause. He immediately diverted his attention to the remaining Inves, who were coming hard and fast for him.

One foot forward, Kaito angled his body forward like an expert fencer, his muscles tense with controlled power. The Inves approaches, ten meters, eight, five, three - he lunged. Strike! Energy spear penetrating through the Inves' thick shell and out from its back. Another explosion. Two down.

Without pausing , Kaito quickly reverse-turned his lance downwards and back, stabbing through the final Inves, whose sharp claws was inches away from tearing into Kaito's unguarded back. Stunned at the sudden turn of events and knowing it's doomed fate, the Inves shrieked and tried a last attempt for bring Kaito down.. But not before Kaito twisted and withdrew his lance from the Inves and gave the Inves a back kick, pushing the Inves back just before the inevitable explosion - Boom!

He sighed, exhaling deeply. The battle was over, time to bring the girl ho-

The girl screamed.

Almost instinctively Kaito leaped to his right, barely avoiding the powerful large claws aimed at his head. Kaito spun. An evolved Berserker Inves had joined the fray. Growling deeply, the green humanoid-tiger Inves splayed its clawed arms open in a threatening display of power, ready to pounce and attack.

Kaito barely had time to register his new foe before the tiger Inves came attacking again.

They clashed. Claw meets lance. It's fast. Powerful muscles granting the monster surprising sharp bursts in speed, sharp claws reaching for Kaito's head. It's intent is clear: Kill!

Kaito could barely fend off this new foe and was quickly forced back into a defensive position. Its rapid strikes did not allow Kaito any room for counter attacks. Despite its bulk from the heavy shell encasing its upper torso, its movements are just too swift for Kaito to keep up.

This will not do, he said to himself. Being on the defensive will get him nowhere. Offence is the best defence. The only way to bring it down is by overwhelming it with attacks and not allowing it any chance to attack.

But first, he needed to find an opportunity to attack. Trusting his armor to minimize most of the damage, Kaito lowered his defences. Seizing this opportunity, the tiger-Inves intensifies its attack, throwing rapid blow after rapid blow, each hitting its mark. Kaito grunted in pain. He was pushed back from the impact, and struggles to stay on his feet while holding his ground.

Kaito clenched his upper body, tucking his arms tight beside him, trying to minimize battle damage and hold firm his position, waiting for the opportunity to strike back.

After a relentless bashing, the Inves paused momentarily to regain its breath. There!

Kaito leaps at this opportunity and slams the butt of his lance into its side, followed by a sharp swing of his lance to its head, stunning it. Keeping his momentum, he delivered a knee strike to the monster's gut. The Inves bends its body forward from the shock, its anger rising… Wham! A sharp elbow strike from Kaito to its neck knocked it off balance and down to the ground.

Kaito quickly leaps back and put some distance between them. Both enemies were now struggling for breaths, the previous exchange had took its toll on them both.

I need to change tactics, Kaito thought. His foe is too fast and too dangerous in close quarters, and Kaito has already taken on too much damage. "I have the advantage in mid-range..." No time to think, here it comes again.

Kaito reflexively reached for the Mango lockseed by his waist. No, he told himself. Now is not the time. "I can win this." He clenched his fists "I will show them my strength, I am Baron!" Lance in hand, he charged.

Kaito roared, charging with his lance aimed forward like a medieval knight in a joust. On the other side, the tiger Inves rushed, deadly claws ready to swipe and tear down his opponent. The Inves had the advantage in speed, and was almost certain to land the first blow. But Kaito had the upper hand when it comes to ranged attacks.

He scored a hit, barely. His attack had only grazed its side, his attack was not strong enough to penetrate the Inves tough armor. However his attack had stunned the Inves for a moment, and a moment was all he needed.

Kaito spun his lance, slamming the sharp end unto the Inves' head. It tried to counter attack, raising its left claw for a deadly slash, but Kaito managed to parry the blow. He grabbed unto the Inves' arm, stopping its momentum before it could deliver the attack. The Inves then tried to attack with its free right claw, but Kaito managed to deflect that strike as well. Both opponents were locked in arms, and were struggling to gain the upper hand. It is now a battle of strength and will; Kaito was superior when it comes to brute strength but he was worn down from his previous battle, and probably could not hold unto the fight for much longer… With both arms occupied, he did the only thing he could, he headbutted the Inves. He slammed his horned head into the Inves' face with such force, the impact of the attack staggering them both.

The Inves was caught off-guard by the attack and left dazed. Kaito was first to get back on his feet, he took the opportunity and shot off a perfect round house kick to the Inves' head. After taking in so much damage, the Inves is struggling to stay on its feet. Kaito realized he needs to keep the Inves occupied, lest it regains its momentum and turn the tide on him.

He picked his lance from the ground, drove it forward, straight through its abdomen. And he charged. Putting all his remaining strength behind his legs, he pushed, overwhelming the Inves using brute strength alone, driving the Inves backward and pinning the monster to a tree.

Effectively nailing the Inves to a tree, Kaito then pummeled the Inves, raining punches on his opponent, wearing it down until it was too weak to resist. Then, for the second time in a day, Kaito activated his finisher. "Banana au lait!"

An energy spear materialize inside the Inves, expanding the hole already present in its gut, effectively increasing the damage by a hundredfold. The Inves snarled and struggled to escape, but to no avail. Kaito continues to expand his energy spear, until he blew a hole through the Inves and tree. Kaito grimmed and withdrew his lance from his fallen foe, the resulting explosion rang through the forest, saluting his hard won victory. .

He won. It was a hard fight, but he won. However Kaito was still left unsatisfied. I still have ways to go if I want to get stronger. He sighed. But now his priority is to get the girl home, before more trouble comes their way.

He found the terrified child hiding behind a nearby tree. He picked up the still trembling girl in his arms, resting her against his strong arms.

"C'mon kid, let's get you home"


End file.
